College of Arts and Sciences

  • Polluted flowers smell less sweet to pollinators, study finds

    The research, involving primroses and hawk moths, suggests that air pollution could be interfering with plant reproduction. The UW's Jeff Riffell, professor of biology, and Joel Thornton, professor of atmospheric sciences, are quoted, and Jeremy Chan, a former graduate student, is pictured.
    02/12/2024 | The New York Times
  • It seems like everyone you know is moving — they're not

    Americans are moving within the country far less often than they once did. The peak of U.S. migration followed the end of World War II and lasted through the mid-1970s. But while overall migration is down, state-to-state moves are slowly on the rise again. James Gregory, professor and associate chair of history at the UW, is quoted.
    02/12/2024 | Business Insider
  • UW's Burke Museum working with Native tribes to repatriate Indigenous artifacts

    Museums across Washington state may no longer display some Native artifacts without permission under a new federal rule. The UW's Justice McNeeley, repatriation coordinator and assistant registrar at the Burke Museum; and Sara Gonzalez, associate professor of anthropology and curator of archaeology at the Burke Museum, are quoted.
    02/09/2024 | KUOW
  • Air pollution messes with moths’ ability to smell flowers

    Byproducts of car exhaust disrupt pollination by degrading the floral scents that insects use to track down their favorite plants, according to new research. The UW's Jeff Riffell, professor of biology, and Joel Thornton, professor of atmospheric sciences, are quoted.
    02/09/2024 | Popular Science
  • How air pollution prevents pollinators from finding their flowers

    Many animals rely on scent to make sense of the world. Pollution from smokestacks and tailpipes may be making them nose-blind. The UW's Jeff Riffell, professor of biology, and Joel Thornton, professor of atmospheric sciences, are quoted.
    02/09/2024 | The Washington Post
  • Foul fumes pose pollinator problems

    Scientists at the University of Washington have discovered that nighttime air pollution â coming primarily from car exhaust and power plant emissions â is responsible for a major drop in nighttime pollinator activity. Nitrate radicals (NO3) in the air degrade the scent chemicals released by a common wildflower, drastically reducing the scent-based cues that its chief pollinators rely on to locate the flower. The findings, published Feb. 9 in Science, are the first to show how nighttime pollution creates a chain of chemical reactions that degrades scent cues, leaving flowers undetectable by smell. The researchers also determined that pollution likely has worldwide impacts on pollination.
    02/08/2024 | UW News
  • For-profit Tacoma ICE center blocks health and labor inspections

    Conditions in the immigrant detention facility have garnered over 300 complaints, but a law to increase state oversight is still tied up in court. Angelina Godoy, professor of law, societies and justice and of international studies and director of the Center for Human Rights at the UW, is quoted.
    02/05/2024 | Crosscut
  • Seattle Art Museum removes Native objects amid new federal rules

    The Seattle Art Museum will remove five Native American cultural items from public view, a spokesperson said Thursday. The museum said the items are all of Tlingit origin, a group Indigenous to what is now Southeast Alaska. They include three headdresses, a dagger and a staff. The UW's Justice McNeeley, repatriation coordinator and assistant registrar at the Burke Museum; and Sara Gonzalez, associate professor of anthropology and curator of archaeology at the Burke Museum, are quoted.
    02/05/2024 | The Seattle Times
  • Researchers Approach New Speed Limit for Seminal Problem

    Integer linear programming can help find the answer to a variety of real-world problems. Now researchers have found a much faster way to do it. Research from Thomas Rothvoss, Professor of Mathematics, is mentioned.

    01/29/2024 | Quanta Magazine
  • Should social media pay for addicting kids? Seattle schools lawsuit gains steam

    A year into Seattle Public Schools' lawsuit against social media companies, the case is gaining traction. More than 50 school districts in Washington state — and dozens more across the country — have joined Seattle’s lawsuit. Lucía Magis-Weinberg, assistant professor of psychology at the UW, is quoted.
    01/29/2024 | KUOW
  • Trump really could come back — activism against him might not

    The shock of 2016 spurred his critics to fight. A 2024 repeat could prompt flight instead. Megan Ming Francis, an associate professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.
    01/26/2024 | Politico
  • Washington state researching racist property covenants from past

    For several months between the fall of 2022 and the spring of 2023, two or three researchers at the UW headed to the Puget Sound Regional Archives in Bellevue and spent each Friday digging into Kitsap County deed books — specifically, around 300 bound volumes and 520 documents between 1921 and 1948. The purpose was to identify and map neighborhoods marked by racist deed provisions and restrictive covenants across the state before 1968. Sophia Dowling, project coordinator with the UW Racial Restrictive Covenants Project, is quoted, and team members Erin Miller and Samantha Cutts are mentioned.
    01/26/2024 | Kitsap Sun
  • Lunar New Year stamp unveiled in CID

    The U.S. Postal Service unveiled the Lunar New Year "Year of the Dragon" Forever stamp in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District in Seattle on Thursday. The Postal Service printed 22 million stamps that are now on sale at post offices and usps.com. Connie So, teaching professor of American ethnic studies at the UW, is quoted.
    01/26/2024 | Northwest Asian Weekly
  • Year of the Dragon: USPS unveils 2024 Lunar New Year stamp

    The United States Postal Service is celebrating Lunar New Year with a new commemorative stamp. The “Year of the Dragon” stamp is on sale now at post offices across the country and on usps.com. Connie So, teaching professor of American ethnic studies at the UW, is quoted.
    01/26/2024 | The Hill
  • State inspectors denied entry to privately-run immigration detention center in Tacoma

    The Department of Health has received over 300 complaints from detainees about the facility’s conditions. A state law meant to give state agencies more oversight is tied up in court. Angelina Godoy, professor of law, societies and justice and of international studies and director of the Center for Human Rights at the UW, is quoted.
    01/25/2024 | Washington State Standard